Is Iraq the new Vietnam?
- 6 years ago
Armitage flatly denies the false comparison between Iraq and Vietnam.
Question: What do you make of comparisons between Vietnam and Iraq?Armitage: I don't see that many. Vietnam was homogeneous. Iraq is not. There are a lot of differences. In the question of Vietnam, we didn't have UN resolutions existent that would call for the use of force. There are a lot of differences. What is the same is, if you think about it, the remarkable ability of the American public to absorb casualties. In Vietnam when I first showed up in country, we were losing dead . . . 300 soldiers a week. We're losing today 80 or 90 a month. But still, notwithstanding the neuralgia that exists around this issue, the American public seems to have a lot more patience for this suffering -- if they can see a valid end -- than many other states may have.
Question: What do you make of comparisons between Vietnam and Iraq?Armitage: I don't see that many. Vietnam was homogeneous. Iraq is not. There are a lot of differences. In the question of Vietnam, we didn't have UN resolutions existent that would call for the use of force. There are a lot of differences. What is the same is, if you think about it, the remarkable ability of the American public to absorb casualties. In Vietnam when I first showed up in country, we were losing dead . . . 300 soldiers a week. We're losing today 80 or 90 a month. But still, notwithstanding the neuralgia that exists around this issue, the American public seems to have a lot more patience for this suffering -- if they can see a valid end -- than many other states may have.
Question: What do you make of comparisons between Vietnam and Iraq?Armitage: I don't see that many. Vietnam was homogeneous. Iraq is not. There are a lot of differences. In the question of Vietnam, we didn't have UN resolutions existent that would call for the use of force. There are a lot of differences. What is the same is, if you think about it, the remarkable ability of the American public to absorb casualties. In Vietnam when I first showed up in country, we were losing dead . . . 300 soldiers a week. We're losing today 80 or 90 a month. But still, notwithstanding the neuralgia that exists around this issue, the American public seems to have a lot more patience for this suffering -- if they can see a valid end -- than many other states may have.
Question: What do you make of comparisons between Vietnam and Iraq?Armitage: I don't see that many. Vietnam was homogeneous. Iraq is not. There are a lot of differences. In the question of Vietnam, we didn't have UN resolutions existent that would call for the use of force. There are a lot of differences. What is the same is, if you think about it, the remarkable ability of the American public to absorb casualties. In Vietnam when I first showed up in country, we were losing dead . . . 300 soldiers a week. We're losing today 80 or 90 a month. But still, notwithstanding the neuralgia that exists around this issue, the American public seems to have a lot more patience for this suffering -- if they can see a valid end -- than many other states may have.